Top Chef Just Desserts

Did you watch the 'Top Chef Just Desserts' Season 2 finale? Are you happy with who won?

We caught up with the show's big winner to talk about their plans for the prize money, loving the 'Real Housewives' and which "special" fellow contestant just needs more time to refine their craft a bit.

The winner -- who admitted "This is definitely, by far, the hardest thing I've ever done in my professional career" -- also gave some fancy footwear advice for anyone wanting to be Top Chef.

It all came down to a final face-off between the final three on 'Top Chef: Just Desserts' (Wed., 10PM ET on Bravo). With $100,000 on the line, as well as a feature in 'Food and Wine Magazine,' the contestants were definitely feeling the pressure.

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For their final challenge, they had to make a dessert that represented someone important to them, as well as an entire table of desserts for display. Aesthetic presentation and flavor were equally important, as this was their last chance to impress.

Reality TV has had its fair share of villains, but when the bad behavior happens off camera, it's still a bit of a shock -- especially in the case of 'Top Chef Just Desserts' Season 1 finalist Morgan Wilson, who was indicted on three second-degree felony charges of possession with the intent to promote child pornography.

Wilson, 38, was arrested on Dec. 7, 2010 -- less than a month after the 'Just Desserts' finale episode aired -- when undercover investigators received file transfers from him via Limewire on his computer in September 2010. The file transfers allegedly contained images and videos of children as young as toddlers engaged in sexual acts, according to Pegasus News.

Fans of the Bravo show will remember that Wilson (whose bio is still live on Bravo's site), who lives in Plano, a suburb of Dallas, Texas, was known for getting emotional when talking about his young son in confessionals throughout the season of 'Just Desserts.'

This week proved to be such a fun challenge, we went straight to the elimination challenge on 'Top Chef: Just Desserts' (Wed., 10PM ET on Bravo). Each of the four finalists was asked to pick a country, and then tasked with making a dessert that looked like a dish from that country.

By dish, of course, the judges meant a main course, so they had to disguise their desserts as traditional meals. What a brilliant challenge to really see who's a master of desserts. And it proved tough for the competitors.

Reality show competitions are very stressful. And by the time you get down toward the end, your nerves are often frayed. That's probably why three of the remaining five contestants on 'Top Chef: Just Desserts' (Wed., 10PM ET on Bravo) got their drink on with a classic game of 'Never Have I Ever.'

The boys had so much fun that Carlos was certain that he, Matthew and Orlando would be in the bottom tomorrow, simply because they were so wasted. Plus, we learned that they all want to punch Johnny in the face -- Orlando wants to twice!

Two people went home this week on 'Top Chef: Just Desserts' (Wed., 10PM ET on Bravo). In a surprise twist, the contestants were told that the loser of the doughnut challenge at the top of the show would be eliminated right there.

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Katzie was devastated when Megan was sent packing after her glaze was too crunchy. Luckily for Katzie she wouldn't have to suffer the competition alone for long. The contestants were next split into two groups of three and tasked with creating a chocolate showpiece.

'Top Chef: Just Desserts' is not a new show. However, Season 2 feels like a completely different program compared to the first season. Nobody can attest to that more than 'Just Desserts' host Gail Simmons.

"The first season of a show, you want to test the waters and it's always a bit of an experiment to see what works and what doesn't," Simmons told AOL TV. "I think, as with 'Top Chef' the original show, we learned that we wanted to up the ante every season and that's what we did."

Compared to last season's wide array of dessert makers -- from more basic bakers to quirky pastry chefs -- Simmons said the Season 2 contestants are more focused, high-level pastry chefs.

"It's not so much about getting desserts onto a plate, or plating desserts," she said. "It's about constructing imaginative masterpieces that are edible. So it's much more architectural and it's really about the highest level of skill that a pastry chef requires. So much more than just a piece of cake."

'Top Chef: Just Desserts' (Wed., 10PM ET on Bravo) kicked off with a $25,000 prize on the line. The Quickfire Challenge was to come up with a small dessert that packed enough flavor to inspire a flavor for Extra Gum's Dessert Delights line.

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The winning flavor was pancakes with strawberries, elevating Craig to the front of the pack. As an additional reward, he got to pick team captains for two teams heading into the next round. He chose himself and Amanda.

'Top Chef' is a juggernaut, with cheftestants competing for huge prizes and culinary glory going on nine seasons now. But one thing has been a constant on 'Top Chef' and its spin-off 'Top Chef Masters': desserts can send even the most talented chefs off to pack their knives and go.

Pastry is full of complicated, mathematical equations that savory chefs don't often bother with, and if a dessert fails, it's not usually a simple fix. The recipes call for much more time and patience, a luxury not usually given in reality TV competitions.

Which is why I was so thrilled that 'TC' got another spin-off last year: 'Top Chef Just Desserts.' While Season 1 delivered on drama, it left too much to the imagination when it came to the food, but they've kicked it up a few degrees with Season 2 (Wednesdays, 10PM ET on Bravo).

I caught up with the show's head judge and chef mentor, James Beard award-winning pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini. Iuzzini's ditched his buzzed-about pompadour and chops from last season and is putting all his opinions and personality in his cryptic facial expressions. Let's just say if you're a chef on the show and you're questioning your dish, an eyebrow-raise from Iuzzini will drive you insane wondering if you've failed or triumphed.

The second season of 'Top Chef: Just Desserts' (Wed., 10PM ET on Bravo) kicked off with a fairy tale theme, but it wasn't a happy ending for one contestant who would bear the unfortunate stigma of being the first person eliminated.

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The season opened up with a Quickfire Challenge pairing up the fourteen contestants. Each was tasked with creating a soda-fountain inspired dessert, where Amanda and Nelson came out on top. That said, it's so early in the competition, it's hard to know who to root for yet.

Gail Simmons has branched out from judging Bravo's 'Top Chef' to hosting her own spinoff, 'Top Chef: Just Desserts.' But can she really make her own desserts? Simmons showed up on 'Today' (weekdays, 7AM on NBC) to make an ice cream pie and prove she can dish it out as well as she can ... well, dish it out.

Simmons said 'Just Desserts' is about more than just baking something tasty. "It's not about putting a dessert on a plate anymore," she said, "it's about structures and sugar and architecture and, kind of, magic."

'Bachelor Pad' (8PM ET, ABC)
If seeing grown adults slowly having their sanity slip away in an alcohol-soaked pool-party setting wasn't entertaining enough, this week the contestants tackle synchronized swimming! We can also look forward to another macho display of testosterone poisoning from Jake Pavelka and Kasey Kahl.

'The Lying Game' (9PM ET, ABC Family)
The second episode of this twisted tale sees Emma struggling to keep up the charade of being Sutton with her sister still missing, while Ethan helps her prepare for the father-daughter dance.

'Top Gear' (9PM ET, BBC America) season premiere
If you like your entertainment a little less soapy and a little more speedy, check out the 17th season premiere of the world's most beloved car show, with all the same stunts, challenges and test drives you've come to know and love. Rock legend Alice Cooper will take part in 'The Star in the Reasonably Priced Car' challenge this week.

One of the things that's always been striking about how Bravo has reinvented itself over the last decade is that when they find a franchise they like, they go all in and take it in as many different directions as they can.

It's made for a channel that has a very strong identity and fan base. And has led the NBC Universal–owned network to confidently announce at their upfront today that they're going to be picking up 11 new shows.

You read that number right. The 11 that are being picked up include new shows from some of the network's most recognizable stars, like Jeff Lewis and Tabitha Coffey, and will also include a New York spin-off of their popular real estate show 'Million Dollar Listing.'

Bravo has ordered a second season of 'Top Chef Just Desserts,' the network announced today. There's no word on when the show will actually shoot (or air), nor is there word on whether everyone from season 1 will be back to host/judge/mentor.

Budding pastry chefs, take note: Bravo will hold open casting calls across the country from Feb. 27 until March 14.

In other TV news ...

• Kevin Williamson's new CW pilot, a 'Vampire Diaries' companion series, has been put on hold. Instead, the writer will now serve as an executive producer on the network's 'Secret Circle' pilot, about a teenage girl who discovers she is a witch. The project is also based on an L.J. Smith book. [Deadline]

• A stunt woman was injured on the set of 'Justified' yesterday. She reportedly suffered from a "simple accident" (no gun misfires or anything) and is in serious but not critical condition. [Entertainment Weekly]

• USA announced spring premiere dates for two of its original series. 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent' will return for its tenth and final season on May 1, along with season 4 of 'In Plain Sight.' [Deadline, TV Line]

Hey there 'Top Chef' fans, welcome to the final episode of the first season of 'Top Chef: Just Desserts.' This was a great finale with twists and turns and a lot less drama than expected. It was a hard-fought battle, but unlike most 'Top Chef' finales there was no trip to an exotic locale and no short break at home before the last challenge, but there's one thing that all the chefs were granted -- a sous chef.

First, the chefs met up with Johnny at the incredibly fabulous Edison for cocktails and a dessert tasting. This was where they found out who their sous chefs would be for their four-course dessert tasting final challenge.